Background:

Security of private data such as Social Security Numbers, medical records, student class lists, etc., is crucial to any organization. The Academic Health Center (AHC) collaborated with the Office of Information Technology (OIT) to create Public Jobs: Private Data Security Training. This training was developed to educate University of Minnesota employees and volunteers about securing University data. To measure training effectiveness and the overall program success, AHC contacted OMS to conduct training evaluations.

Action:

AHC collaborated with the OMS to develop online evaluations for the courses trainings. First, we identified course objectives and key measurements for each objective. Next, we discussed the implementation of overall program objectives and how those defined outcomes would be assessed at the course level.

OMS created a Pre-Assessment questionnaire that asked respondents to report confidence levels on handling private data and overall security prior to the training administration. At the end of the training, the respondents then completed a Post-Assessment that measured respondents' confidence levels on data privacy and security after the training. To address the specific types of data security, AHC had also developed topical trainings such as Managing Financial Data, Managing Personnel Data, etc. OMS created topical specific surveys based on course learning objectives. The specific surveys were aimed at measuring the extent to which the trainees learned the training content. OMS provides AHC with monthly, quarterly and annual reports with data summaries, analysis and recommendations.

Results:

With the time and energy invested in creating and developing the training, ensuring the objectives were met and the respondents were benefiting from the training was of utmost importance. By providing consistent reporting on Pre-Assessment and Post-Assessment confidence measures, OMS was able to provide important information about the effectiveness of the Public Jobs: Private Data Security Training series.

Conducting the assessments and offering continuous reporting offered AHC these benefits:

• The results affirmed that the trainings had a significant, positive impact on respondents and that the training was meeting the course objectives.
• OMS was able to monitor response rates and, when necessary, make adjustments to provide better access to the surveys.
• On-going and immediate feedback allowed for pinpointing gaps in the trainings and either implementing improvements right away or planning for longer-term revisions and changes.
• The reports OMS created also presented the general trends throughout the year, and by utilizing all of the data, AHC was able to improve and develop future trainings.